Goresnout's Boys
Goresnout's Boys is an encounter in Melody of the Maze mission hub. It comes after Training Hall or Gazing into the Abyss. Enemies *Conscripted Imp (1000 Gold, 112 Xp, 70 Energy, 5 HP Normal, 6 HP Hard) *Conscripted Soldier (1000 Gold, 112 Xp, 70 Energy, 5 HP Normal, 6 HP Hard) *Goresnout (1000 Gold, 112 Xp, 70 Energy, 5 HP Normal, 6 HP Hard) Transcript Introduction Corners are an assassin's best friend. That's what Muller, one of your trainers, was fond of telling you. Then again, he said the exact same thing about daggers, garrotes, soft-soled boots, hoods, windows, and wine (he was drunk in the lattermost case, so that instance can perhaps be discounted). It was one of his customary phrases. But nevertheless, corners are great places to hide behind while spying or lying in ambush. In this case your instinctive movement towards the corner enables you to gaze down the passage unobserved, and rewards you with yet another intriguing sight to add to the plethora you're already witnessed in this place. Once more a familiar figure lies ahead of you. You'd recognize his brutish, blue-furred form anywhere... It's the beastman chieftain you slew in the caves near Marsonne. Such a short time ago, yet with all that's happened since then the sight of your porcine foe is almost comforting. Things were simpler back when you were just killing kobolds and beastmen... Your former -- and soon to be again, you assume -- foe is pacing in front of a small, ragtag assortment of warriors arrayed in a haphazard approximation of military order. An imp slouches at one end of the line, hopping on each foot in turn, his little clawed hands fidgeting with such manic intensity that they resemble a blurred red ball. He stands straight and still as the chieftain turns and paces towards him, and shoves his hands behind his back. The beastman points his snout towards the imp, sniffing the air like a pig hunting for a truffle. Whatever he detects seems to leave him satisfied, for he spins on his heel and walks back up the line. The imp promptly returns to fidgeting, hopping, and slouching. At the other end, past a grunting orc and a plague demon engaged in scratching an interesting clutch of boils, stand two men dressed in the uniforms of royal soldiers. They cast wary glances at their companions, and seem to tremble when the chieftain approaches them. "Spawn of Dratherax is here somewhere," the chieftain snarls. A snort punctuates his sentence, one strong enough to leave his snout wobbling. "We kill him. Revenge for dragons! Revenge for Bloodhowl! Revenge for me -- Goresnout!" He reverses his course once more, walks back towards the imp's end of the line, and stops in front of the plague demon. "Need to be strong for fight! Worthy of Goresnout!" The demon sneezes. "Sorry, boss." Goresnout howls, drags a hand across his face, and glares at its upturned palm. Whatever blend of phlegm, mucus, and other delights he sees there does nothing to calm him. He roars. Then he swings his cleaver. The plague demon explodes. The orc laughs. The cleaver cleaves once more. No one laughs at the second explosion. The imp and soldiers close the gap where demon and greenskin once stood with a series of deft sidesteps. "Need to be strong!" Goresnout continues. "No weakness! No mercy! No fear!" He turns to the nearer to the two soldiers, who somehow manages to shrink away from him with his upper body without moving his legs out of the now reduced line of warriors. "You! What do you fear?" "I..." "What do you fear?" "Spiders!" he squeals. "Bah!" The cleaver rises and falls. The other soldier sidesteps into the vacated space. "What do you fear?" Goresnout asks him. "Nothing, chieftain!" "Good! Now, when enemy gets here-" The chieftain pauses. He raises his blue snout towards the ceiling and takes a long, deliberate sniff. His head descends and turns with such force that it seems to drag his body along after it. "You!" he roars. "Me," you agree. You step out from behind your corner. It may be an assassin's best friend, albeit one of many, but is seems to have exhausted its usefulness for the moment. "Kill him!" The imp and soldier make a simultaneous sigh. Then they advance alongside their master. Conclusion "The first time you were useful," you say. "Now you're just a joke." Goresnout growls. The sound hangs in the air for a moment after your blade pierces his heart and vaporizes his body. You sigh. If you're going to have to kill all your enemies again, you'll be here for a very long time. Category:Melody of the Maze